Surface Diversity

Do we really appreciate and want a diverse society, or is the perception that we are diverse sufficient? Society feels global and more interactive, particularly as technology has revolutionized the way we see and experience events and each other. Despite this, there are some findings that make me reconsider our supposed shift to a more global and inclusive society:

An April 2014 MTV and David Binder Research Poll that indicated that, 91% of 18-24 year olds strongly believe in racial equality. Seventy-three percent of participants thought that having “open, constructive conversations about bias” would help people become less prejudiced, but only 20% of these participants noted that they would feel comfortable having this conversation.

Almost half of the world lives on less than $2 a day, and for every six people who have enough food to eat, around one man, woman or child is starved of adequate nutrition.

A 2012 study by the Center for American Progress found that public schools with student populations that are 90 percent or more White receive an average of $733 more per pupil. This is 18 percent more per pupil than schools with 90 percent or more students of color receive.

The same study reported that there are now more Latinos there than Blacks in the southern United States. In the 2011–2012 school year, Latinos were likely to attend a relatively segregated public school, while Asian children were more likely to attend schools significantly more integrated.

A 2011 study by Sommers and Nelson reported that Whites believe that they have replaced blacks as the primary victims of racial discrimination in contemporary America. The findings, say the authors, in “Whites See Racism as a Zero-sum Game that They Are Now Losing,” published in May 2011 in Journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, suggests that America has not achieved the “post-racial” society that some predicted in the wake of Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States.

Over 40% of LGBT individuals report that they are closeted at the office. Among employees aged 18-24 are only 7% likely to be out at work, despite statistics that suggest that Gen Y is more favorable of same-sex issues than any prior generation.

According to The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Asian-Americans suffer from housing discrimination but are unlikely to report it. Statistically, Asians and Pacific Islanders experience housing discrimination at rates comparable to Hispanics and African-Americans, but only 1 percent of AAPIs filed a complaint with HUD.

Age discrimination in the workplace starts as early as the age of 40.

Between 20% and 40% of people with disabilities in high income countries according to the World Health Organization do not generally have their needs met for assistance with everyday activities. In the United States of America, 70% of adults rely on family and friends for assistance with daily activities.

Women are more likely to live in poverty than are adult men. Single-mother families face particularly high poverty rates, often because of the lower wages earned by women in these families.

A major stressor for Arab Americans is stereotyping, which has been exacerbated by recent world events. Mental health in this community is often seen as a stigma, more than in other groups.

Interminority racism, controversial and rarely discussed, describes prejudiced thinking among and between minority groups of color. For example there have been numerous conflicts in the United States with highlights including the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (blacks and Korean Americans), the 1991 riots in Crown Heights (blacks and Jews) and other conflicts between new immigrant groups and Whites, Mexicans and Filipinos, in addition to African immigrants and American Blacks.